Speculatio in Vis, a photographic exhibition by Jason Pietra, is an investigation into the beauty, diversity and fragility of the natural world. “Pietra changes what would normally be seen as a grotesque subject matter of organs and insects, transforming them into beautiful objects. The viewer becomes lost in the beauty of the final image and begins to become blind to the subject. The juxtaposition of such beautiful depiction versus ugly object, encourages comparisons and parallels, creating and endlessly and transforming dialogue about our value system of nature, history and man,” says Nadia Vellam, photo editor of W Magazine. The exhibition runs from 18 September until 5 October 2009 in theprintspace gallery, London.

Theprintspace Press Release

Speculatio in Vis

A photographic exhibition by Jason Pietra at theprintspace gallery, curated by Magda Keaney

Private View September 18, exhibition runs September 18 – October 5 2009

The exhibition

The exhibition features a selection of large format colour prints of the INSECTS collection as well as a selection of smaller prints from the ORGANS series. An investigation into the beauty, diversity and fragility of the natural world and how this work influences his style and thought.

“Pietra changes what would normally be seen as a grotesque subject matter of organs and insects, transforming them into beautiful objects. The viewer becomes lost in the beauty of the final image and begins to become blind to the subject. The juxtaposition of such beautiful depiction versus ugly object, encourages comparisons and parallels, creating and endlessly and transforming dialogue about our value system of nature, history and man” Nadia Vellam, photo editor of W Magazine.

The photographer
Australian born Jason Pietra is a still life photographer, although this term does not sit comfortably with him. He explains, “I like the things that most people don’t take much notice of. I like to bring things to life. I don’t like the term still life it doesn’t make sense to me. My ambition when I shoot is to give things life especially those things we regard as still or not living, a shoe, a piece of wood, a plastic water pistol. I see these things as all having some kind og life, a connection with life and a story to tell.” In the past, Pietra has shot editorial for W, British Vogue, GQ style, iD, Dazed and Confused, as well as advertising for Prada, Barneys, American Express, Kurt Geiger and Oral B.

Theprintspace gallery
Theprintspace is a professional photographic printing studio & gallery, used by London’s top creative artists & photographers because they can control the creative process themselves. It is the first pro lab to offer fully colour managed prints online & offer the full range of professional print types, from silver-based Digital C-types to Epson Giclees to CMYK Proods. The quality is as high as can be, which is why theprintspace is consistently chosen by Turner Prize winning artists and National Portrait Gallery award winners. At the same time, theprintspace’s low costs make it completely affordable. The new website also allows users to place their printing orders online, allowing accessibility of the service to reach a global audience.

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